With its golden-domed cupola, the Wilbur Cross building is the iconic University facility. All the services students need - including financial aid, housing, and the registrar - can be found in this former library, one of 47 original UConn buildings listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

The picturesque rolling peaks of Horsebarn Hill are the centerpiece of UConn's founding department, the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. You can't beat the view, and the nearby floriculture greenhouses, animal barns, and famed Dairy Bar are worth a visit.

Collections of original source materials for research, primarily in the humanities and social sciences, comprise the foundation upon which the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center is built. It is home to the University Libraries Archives and Special Collections, the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, and the Human Rights Institute.

The Student Union is one of the hubs of student activity on campus. Grab a bite to eat at the food court, Chuck & Augie's restaurant, or The Blue Cow ice cream shop. Take in a flick or performance at the SU Theater. Hit the books in a study lounge, or play games in the game room. UConn's cultural centers and some of our 600+ student clubs and organizations are based here, too.

History

Pay it forward.

Late in 1880, brothers Charles and Augustus Storrs donated land and money to start an agricultural school in Connecticut. More than 130 years later, the University of Connecticut has become one of the top 20 public universities in the nation.

1881

Connecticut Gov. Hobart Bigelow signs legislation accepting Charles and Augustus Storrs’ gift of a former orphanage, 170 acres of farmland, $6,000, and a few barns, and establishing Storrs Agricultural School. Classes begin on Sept. 28 with three faculty members and 13 males enrolled.

1893

The Connecticut General Assembly approves the institution’s name change to Storrs Agricultural College and permits the admission of women, three years after Mansfield resident Nellie Wilson became the first woman to take classes at the school. Benjamin Koons’ title is changed from Principal to President. The school becomes Connecticut’s land-grant college.

1899

1915

1920

Connecticut Agricultural College awards its first master’s degree.

1933

The institution is renamed Connecticut State College. The school begins awarding Bachelor of Arts degrees.

1934

The husky dog mascot is chosen through a survey in the student newspaper, The Connecticut Campus. A student contest results in naming the mascot Jonathan, for Jonathan Trumbull, Connecticut’s Revolutionary War-era governor.

1938

The College receives full accreditation by the Association of American Universities.

1939

Connecticut State College becomes the University of Connecticut.

1943

The University acquires the Hartford Colleges of Law and Insurance, effectively establishing the UConn School of Law. The Graduate School begins offering doctoral-level coursework.

1949

The University awards its first doctoral degrees — two in chemistry and one in genetics. University trustees prohibit organizations that discriminate against or exclude individuals based on race, religion, or national origin.

1960

1970

1980

1990

1964

The board of trustees approves the UConn Health Center, a 106-acre, seven-building complex for medicine and dentistry with in- and out-patient facilities, three years after the schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine are sanctioned by the state legislature.

1975

John Dempsey Hospital opens at the Health Center campus in Farmington, three years after the first medical and dental school students receive their degrees.

1981

UConn’s women’s field hockey team wins their first NCAA Championship. The team is the first UConn women’s team sport to win an NCAA Championship. The University celebrates its centennial.

1985

UConn attains the prestigious designation of Research I institution from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

1995

The state general assembly adopts UCONN 2000, a 10-year, $1 billion plan to rebuild, renew, and enhance the University. The women’s basketball team wins the first of nine NCAA Division I championships under coach Geno Auriemma.

1999

The men’s basketball team wins the first of four NCAA Division I championships, defeating Duke University 77-74. Alumnus Raymond Neag donates $21 million to the School of Education and $2 million to the UConn Health Center, the largest single donation in University history. Neag and his wife later donate $10 million to establish The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center.

2000

2010

2002

Building on the success of UCONN 2000, the state legislature passes 21st Century UConn, a $1.3 billion improvement plan.

2003

Rentschler Field, the 40,000-seat home of UConn football in East Hartford, opens.

2011

U.S. News & World Report ranks UConn among the Top 20 public universities in the nation.

2012

2013

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs into law Next Generation Connecticut, committing $1.7 billion in funding over a decade to enhance UConn’s infrastructure, hire additional faculty, and enroll more students, with an emphasis on STEM programs.

2014

Three UConn NCAA Division I Athletics teams win national championship titles in the 2013-2014 academic year: Field Hockey and Men’s and Women’s Basketball. UConn is the only school to have both basketball teams win titles in the same year, and we’ve done it twice (the first Dual Championship was in 2004). UConn develops a new Master Plan document that will shape the physical development of the Storrs campus over the next 20 years, helping to guide capital investments and ensuring the infrastructure supports the University’s mission.